Running
by Sessy52
Summary: He ran to get away from the world. He ran to get away from the empty feeling inside. He ran to forget about the harsh world he was stuck in. The world that he was lost in and just looking for answers.


**Hey. I am suffering from Writers block for my story** _Who's Back?_ **so i thought i might try to write something else to get the writer juices flowing. And well, this is the outcome. **

**This is inspired by a picture i saw online. The picture is kind of depressing and really deep but i just couldn't stop thnking about it. I don't even remember where i saw the picture, just the picute itself. The picture is of a woman's bare bare, and she has her ahir pulled away from her back so you can see everything. And craved into her back is three questions that just made my mind reel. I was like whoa. It's deep.**

**So, this is what i came up with as a result. Enjoy.**

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Pant. Pant. Pant.

Step. Step. Step.

Sasuke clenched his teeth, feeling exhaustion hit him. But he keep moving, ignoring it. After all, he had been ignoring it all day. He didn't want to stop. He wasn't done yet. He was determined to keep going.

Step. Step. Step.

Pant. Pant. Pant.

There was something about running. It didn't necessarily calm him, but he didn't feel all the pressure and responsibility that he lived with when he was running. It always just took him from the real world, and placed him in a new one. A world where there was nothing to bother him. It was just him and the path ahead of him.

There was no ninjas after him. There was no evil monsters determined to have him for his power. There was no need to be strong. There was no dead family. There was no villagers that spat at him as he walked by. There was no elders out to get him. There was no one watching his every step, just waiting for him to mess up. There was no one wanting him gone. _(-except himself-) _There was nothing to weigh him down.

He had started running after the massacre. He just wanted to get away from everyone's stares, all the murmuring about him. He wanted to just gat away. It was just too much for a seven year old boy to handle.

So he ran.

He wove through the crowded streets, trying to get away from everyone. But when he was away,-not a person in sight- he didn't stop. He just kept on running. Because it was a nice way to get himself to stop thinking. To focus on something other then the great empty hole that was ripped out of him. It was a way to have momentary peace from the real world and all the haunts that went with it.

He discovered a way to just get away.

_

_

He continued to run even when he moved on to Sound. He hated it there. He hated Orochimaru and Kabuto. He hated the small damp, windowless room that was his room. He hated all the people that were there and how they hated him for being a favorite of Orochimaru. He hated what he did to get there. He hated the people he hurt to get to where he was. He hated that no matter how hard he tried not to, he couldn't stop thinking about his old team.

So he ran.

He ran to get rid of the thoughts that haunted him. He ran to get away from everyone there. He ran to get away from himself.

_

_

He continued to run when he joined the Akatsuki. Tobi was using him, he knew and yet he felt he couldn't get away from him. He felt hollow all the time. He felt guilty, for killing his brother. He killed the one person that had probably loved him the most. He killed the person that had killed other and became a criminal and did horrible things, for the love of him and his village. He had killed the person that was wronged by his village. And he now found himself in a tangled mess in order to avenge his brother. He found himself in a plot to destroy Konoha and the elders. And yet he knew, deep inside, that he could never do it.

So he ran.

He ran to get rid of the guilt. He ran to get away from the tangled mess that he had gotten himself into. From the hollow feeling in his gut. The gripping pain he felt when he thought about destroying his home. The mind-numbing pain he felt when he thought of harming his old friends. The frustration he felt when all these doubts from in his head when he kept telling himself that it was all for revenge.

And he didn't stop running until he found himself far from where he was supposed to be. He then he scolded himself for running in the direction of Konoha.

But that didn't stop him from wandering there anyways.

_

_

It was hard to return. He was put in jail for one year until they released him, only to put him on two year probation. People hated him. They spat at his feet as he walked by, sometimes hitting him, sometimes not. They glared and called him names. Every once and awhile someone would throw something at him or spit in his face. But he didn't fight back. He just stood still and took it all, with a blank face.

Because he deserved everything they threw at him.

He didn't talk to anyone. His old relationships were not the same. Naruto didn't smile at him, Kakashi didn't pull out his book and Sakura didn't say anything to him. He had hurt them and they couldn't forgive him. And it killed him. So he avoided them and they avoided him. And it only killed him more.

And so he ran.

_

_

He had went for a walk late at night to cool them down after being stuck in his house all day. He had wandered by the ramen stand, the place that was their spot. It was team seven's spot and would always be special to all of them. So when he saw Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi there, he felt no surprise. But when he spotted the other person he went numb.

Sai.

Naruto had mentioned him once before after Sasuke had returned and was released from confinement. He was his replacement. It hadn't bother him at the time. He thought I was normal for them to replace him so that their team would be even again. But it didn't occur to him that they had gotten close to him. He just thought he was the replacement, the filler.

But this filler was seated at the ramen stand, team seven's special place. The place where they all shared memories. A place that Sasuke couldn't help but no longer feel welcome in. Because there can't be a fifth person in team seven. And he had thrown away his chance at being the fourth person in the equation. He threw away his last chance at happiness.

So he ran.

Away from the happy team. Away from the hateful villagers. Away from the memories. Away from the pain.

_

_

Pant. Pant. Pant.

Step. Step. Step.

He ran late at night. He ran when the sun rose. He ran when the sun was directly above him, signaling that it was noon. He ran when the dark clouds rolled in. He ran when the rain poured down around him. He ran when his muscles begged him to stop. He ran the around the entire village over and over again.

Because that's what he is good at. Running away.

Step. Step. Ste-

Sasuke crashed to the ground, his legs finally giving in. He scowled.

Pant. Pant. Pant.

The rain continued to pour around him, hitting him harshly as he stared at the ground. The rain mixed with the dirt underneath him. He breathed harshly and tried to force his body to stand back up again. He stood on shaky legs and took a few steps before crashing back down.

He scowled again and hit the ground angrily. _Why? _He asked himself. He just wanted to run. He just wanted to get away from the pain that he feels. But he was too weak to move now. Why? Why couldn't the gods just help him out, just this once, and let him run? Why couldn't he just run for the rest of his life? Why did he have to be weak? Why was he stuck in his harsh world? Why was he stuck?

He hit the ground angrily again, the mud squishing beneath his fist. He stared at his fist.

It was covered in mud, the mud seeping between his fingers. It was his left hand, he noticed. He hated that hand. Because it connected to his wrist, and up his arm, which connected to his shoulder where he had a scar from Itachi the night of the massacre, which connected to his neck, where he had the curse seal. He hated his entire left side because your heart was on your left side as well.

He stared at his wrist, it covered in some wraps. He never took them off unless to shower. Because he didn't want to see and be reminded.

But wasn't that why he did it in the first place. To be reminded just how pathetic he is.

He remembered doing it. A dark, lonely night at the Akatsuki when he had a slip of sanity. He remembered carving the little letters into his wrist with a kunai. It was small, but wrapped around his entire wrist. It bleed for days afterward, but he didn't bother wrapping with up at first. He liked seeing it for some reason. But now, he covers them up. The nasty scars always filling him with disgust every time he see them. Just a reminder that he has nobody.

_Where is my love? Where is my hope? Where is my reason to live?_

Three questions, carved hideously into his wrist forever. And forever to be hidden away from the world.

His eyes blurred. Confusion washed over him momentarily before he realized that it was just tears. Then anger rushed through him. He shouldn't be crying, he had no reason to. He was just being weak. And yet, he didn't bother to wipe them away.

He heard footsteps from behind him, approaching him. For one fleeting moment he thought it was Orochimaru. Probably there to reproach him for being weak and crying. If it was one thing he learned it was to never show emotions, and yet here he was, crying in the rain after collapsing.

Or maybe it was his brother. Here to help him up and hold him close. Poke his forehead for being stupid and then carry him home. He'd probably mock him for doing such a stupid thing, but help him clean up the mess he created. Cause that's the kind of person he was. And Sasuke was in dire need of someone like that to help him through this. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

Sasuke sat perfectly still, eyes closed and fist clenched, as the footsteps came closer and closer. He tried to will his tears to stop seeping from his eyes, but they wouldn't and he hoped that they would blend in with the rain. The footsteps stopped right behind him and the rain stopped pouring down on him even though he could still hear it pounding into the ground around him.

"Sasuke." a small, smooth, feminine voice said, startling Sasuke though he refused to show it.

"Come on, Sasuke. Let's get you home." He heard someone say before someone gently put on hand on his drenched head. He flinched away from the contact and opened his eyes and looked up.

Sakura stood before him, a red umbrella blocking the rain from the both of them. She had a calm, yet slightly worried expression on her face. He stared at her for a long moment before she smiled at him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. And this time he didn't flinch away.

He just stared up at her, only noticing Kakashi and Naruto when they were right next to him. He stared at the three before him, completely confused.

"You're an idiot, Teme!" Naruto exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face.

Sasuke just stared for a long moment and then nodded. Sakura scowled and hit Naruto, scolding him for him for being rude and how he just wanted to start something. Sasuke watched as the interacted, Sakura scolding while Naruto tried to fight his way out of trouble, blaming everyone else. It was like old times.

Kakashi pulled Sasuke to his feet and then onto his back, shocking the young Uchiha. Sakura and Naruto continued to bicker while they started walking and it occurred to Sasuke that he was getting Kakashi all wet. Naruto stood under his own umbrella while Sakura had hers and held out Kakashi's for him so that he could carry Sasuke. After walking for a minute or two, Kakashi pulled out his book, holding it with his one hand while the other kept Sasuke on his back.

Sasuke smirked, burying his head into Kakashi's back. "Thank you." He whispered, but he knew they all heard when they all shut up. They didn't say anything in return, but Sasuke felt what the unspoken words.

Through they knew he was grateful, Sasuke was convinced that they will never fully understand. They helped him in so many ways.

He didn't want to run anymore. It was a waste of time. He knew he could face whatever life threw at him.

And he found his answers to his three questions.

_Where is my love? Where is my hope? Where is my reason to live?_

Although, he guessed he knew all along.

_Thank you. You are my answers._

_-_

_-_

_Team Seven_

End.

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**So? That was my first attempt at anything like that. Do i majorly suck or did i do okay. I would love to hear from you.**


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